Pesticides

News about Pesticides, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Jul. 28, 2015

Study published in The Journal of Environmental Chemistry reports finding insecticides containing neonicotinoids, which have been linked to colony collapse disorder, in more than 70 percent of pollen and honey samples collected from hives in Massachusetts. MORE

Apr. 23, 2015

Research by European scientists published in journal Nature finds negative impact on bees from neonicotinoids, widely used class of pesticides restricted by Environmental Protection Agency; study indicates that wild bees and bumblebees pollinating crops treated with that type of pesticide, containing a nicotine-like substance, are less likely to reproduce. MORE

Apr. 9, 2015

European Academies Science Advisory Council issues report finding group of pesticides known as neonicotinoids is likely to be more damaging to ecosystems than previously thought; previous research has shown chemicals are likely to have played role in mass deaths of honeybees; European Commission ban on some of the chemicals is up for review, and report is intended to provide officials with recommendations for proceeding. MORE

Mar. 21, 2015

World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancers says glyphosate, active ingredient in Roundup herbicide, is probably carcinogenic to humans; Monsanto, which manufactures herbicide, disputes findings. MORE

Mar. 4, 2015

France's winemakers are caught in debate over virtues of organic wine, what constitutes natural wine and whether growers can be forced by government to spray pesticides on their vines; issues are highlighted at annual natural wine exposition held in Saumur, France. MORE

Feb. 24, 2015

Deep divide exists between American and European regulation of pesticides and other chemicals, resulting in flare-ups during trans-Atlantic trade talks; many chemicals that are banned or strictly regulated in European Union are permitted in United States; Swiss firm Syngenta makes atrazine, one of America's most popular herbicides, yet cannot market it in EU or Switzerland. MORE

Sep. 12, 2014

United States Geological Survey published in journal Environmental Science & Technology reports that development of safer pesticides and legal restrictions on their use have sharply reduced risk to humans from pesticide-tainted rivers and streams; reports potential risk to aquatic life in urban waters has risen. MORE

Aug. 26, 2014

United States Magistrate Judge Barry M Kurren in Hawaii strikes down local ordinance that would have restricted or regulated use of pesticides and genetically modified crops on island of Kauai; says measure is pre-empted by state law in ruling that represents victory for Syngenta and three other seed and chemical companies that say ordinance would place unnecessary and unfair restrictions on operations. MORE

Jul. 28, 2014

Six wildlife and conservation groups in New York are pressing for statewide ban on class of poisons used to kill rats, contending that poison has been indiscriminately killing wildlife, including birds, in places like Central Park; groups are relying on necropsy reports dating back to the 1980s and on fresh evidence from post-mortem examinations conducted by the State Department of Environmental Conservation, MORE

Jul. 15, 2014

Op-Ed article by biologist Mark Winston examines global collapse of honeybee colonies; holds it was brought about in part by the complex interaction of man-made chemicals like pesticides in the environment; contends tumultuous demise of honeybees should alert human beings to their own vulnerability; calls on regulatory authorities to require studies on how exposure to low dosages of combined chemicals may affect human health before approving compounds. MORE

Jul. 12, 2014

Comprehensive review of earlier studies to be published in British Journal of Nutrition finds substantially higher levels of antioxidants and lower levels of pesticides in organic fruits, vegetables and grains compared with conventionally grown produce; findings stop short of claiming that eating organic produce will lead to better health. MORE

May. 11, 2014

Op-Ed article by Diane Lewis, physician and founder of Great Healthy Yard Project, warns homeowners that they are exposing themselves to toxic chemicals by using synthetic pesticides, weedkillers and fertilizers on routine basis; notes that natural care of one's yards and gardens is surprisingly easy. MORE

Jan. 28, 2014

Scientists and biotechnology companies are developing a new technique to kill pests without harming beneficial insects, one that relies on RNA inference, natural phenomenon that is set off by double-stranded RNA; some specialists fear that releasing gene-silencing agents into fields could harm organisms that have a common genetic makeup to targeted pests, and possibly even humans. MORE

Dec. 18, 2013

European food regulators say class of pesticides linked to deaths of large numbers of honey bees might also harm human health and recommend European Commission further restrict their use. MORE

Dec. 12, 2013

Bayer, one of major producers of type of pesticide linked to large-scale die-off of honey bees in North America and Western Europe, sees varroa mites as a different threat and is working to find a remedy; experts say mites are problem, but cannot be seen as only threat to bees. MORE

Oct. 22, 2013

Indian police charge school principal Meena Kumari and her husband Arjun Rai with murder over the deaths of 23 children who were poisoned by a meal served at the school that was contaminated with pesticide. MORE

Oct. 17, 2013

Legislators on Hawaiian island of Kauai approve bill to restrict use of pesticides by companies developing genetically modified crops there. MORE

Oct. 8, 2013

Hawaii has become hub for development of genetically engineered corn and other crops that are sold to farmers worldwide, and seeds are state's leading agricultural commodity; activists opposed to biotech crops have joined with residents who say corn farms expose them to dust and pesticides, and they are trying to drive companies away, or at least rein them in. MORE

Jul. 30, 2013

The Week column; study in PLoS One suggests that agricultural chemicals may be contributing to honeybee deaths; other significant developments in health and science news highlighted. MORE

Jul. 13, 2013

Fire officials say woman in Manhattan's Chinatown set off explosion and fire in her apartment by the unsafe use of so-called bug bombs, which are highly flammable; blast was caused when excessive amount of insecticide from more than 20 foggers came in contact with a pilot light, blowing out the back wall of the apartment and causing a partial collapse of the building. MORE

Jul. 12, 2013

Improper use of aerosal insecticide foggers, which are highly flammable, causes explosion inside a Chinatown beauty parlor, leaving three people badly hurt; building catches fire and partially collapses. MORE

May. 24, 2013

Researchers in journal Science report that some populations of cockroaches have evolved simple, highly effective defense against sweet-tasting poison baits; say they switched their internal chemistry around so that sweet-tasting glucose tastes bitter. MORE

Apr. 7, 2013

Editorial calls attention to fact that bee colonies have been dying in increasing numbers and that 2012 was especially bad; calls on Environmental Protection Agency to conduct immediate analysis of class of pesticides known as neonicotinoids, which have been demonstrated to damage bees' brain function. MORE

Apr. 2, 2013

The Week column; colony collapse disorder, malady that has been causing mass death of honeybees since 2005, appears to be advancing, perhaps due to class of pesticides called neonicotinoids; other significant developments in health and science news highlighted. MORE

Mar. 29, 2013

Mysterious ailment that has been killing honeybees appears to have expanded drastically in past year, wiping out as many as half of the hives needed to pollinate much of America’s produce; beekeepers and some researchers say there is growing evidence that powerful new class of pesticides could be important factor. MORE

Mar. 16, 2013

Proposed measure to restrict use of pesticides that have been blamed for bee die-offs worldwide is left in limbo after representatives from Britain and Germany abstain from voting, leaving European Commission without needed qualified majority. MORE

Mar. 15, 2013

European officials plan to vote on proposal to sharply restrict use of chemicals that have been implicated in decline of global bee populations. MORE

Mar. 12, 2013

Editorial highlights study finding that collapsing populations of grassland birds are more strongly correlated with insecticide use than with habitat alteration; expresses hope that study will cause Environmental Protection Agency to consider next generation of insecticides in more critical light. MORE

Mar. 3, 2013

Op-Ed article by author Margaret Roach highlights fact that more pesticides are used on vegetables grown for their seed than those grown for consumption; observes that for those who want to garden organically, finding seeds that have been culled from organically grown vegetables could be difficult. MORE

Jan. 29, 2013

Oct. 28, 2012

Rachel Carson, author who warned of pesticides’ toll on nature in Silent Spring 50 years ago, showed that individual action, fueled by resolution and hard work, has the power to change the world. MORE

Jul. 24, 2012

Inesfly, insecticidal house paint, is proving highly successful in Bolivia in battling vinchuca, large biting insects that transmit a parasite causing the incurable, and often fatal, Chagas disease; paint, manufactured by Spanish company Inesba, is being evaluated by the World Health Organization in hopes of using it safely into other global disease-control programs. MORE

Mar. 30, 2012

Two studies, published by French and British research teams in journal Science, find that low levels of pesticides known as neonicotinoids can have significant negative effects on bee colonies, and may be a culprit in the rapid worldwide decline in bee populations. MORE

Mar. 22, 2012

Arysta LifeScience Corporation pulls its controversial methyl iodide pesticide from the American market, surprising both growers and environmentalists who had warned that it posed serious hazards. MORE

Feb. 4, 2012

Jia Ping Chen, Chinese citizen who lives in Queens, pleads guilty to selling potentially lethal pesticides not registered with the Environmental Protection Agency to residents of Manhattan's Chinatown. MORE

Dr. Eric Chivian, the founder of the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School, writes that “our government seems more interested in protecting companies” that produce and use certain insecticides “than...

May 23, 2015, Saturday

The White House outlined its strategy to restore the nation’s struggling honeybee and monarch butterfly populations to some semblance of health, mostly by expanding the acreage devoted to the plants that are crucial to their survival.